A little trip to Hangzhou...

So last weekend me and some of the other CRCC interns finally went on our first trip and escaped the hustle and bustle of Shanghai.  Whilst we went to another city (Hangzhou is the capital of the Zhejiang Province) this one was much smaller than Shanghai and is known to be one of the most beautiful cities in all of China – particularly due to its infamous West Lake (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and stunning mountainous surroundings. 

After a 3 hour minibus ride we arrived at our hostel in Hangzhou at around 9pm on Friday evening.  Although basic (yes, squatting toilets included which proved interesting to say the least!), the hostel was quaint and surrounded by beautiful views with everything we needed for a weekend stay, in particular a well stocked bar and pool tables! After dropping off our bags in our rooms (girls in one and boys in the other of course :P), we had a chilled night with a selection of yummy local food, beer and shisha.

Salma showing us how to use an eastern toilet!

The next morning we woke up early to explore the infamous Southern banks of West Lake.  It was so beautiful with delicate pagodas and Chinese gardens – it was probably the first time I truly felt like I was in China! What was even funnier was all the attention we received from locals, with several asking for us to be in photos with them! This is not uncommon as for some of them it would have been the first time that they would have seen a westerner in real life. It was so surreal to say the least.

yi, er, san... say cheesseeee!!!

We managed to get a relaxing boat ride across to the island in the middle of the lake which gave way to more spectacular views – everything was so peaceful! Such a change from the daily grind that we have already become accustomed to in Shanghai!!!

 The same view is on the back of the 1RMB note...

After trying on traditional Chinese attire (they were actually more comfortable than you might think!) in front of pagodas of course, (yet more picture taking not only by us but by local Chinese too!) we left West Lake and made our way into the centre of Hangzhou for food.

And what food we had! We were greeted with a feast (I forget how many dishes we had) which finished with these delicious (but greasy) sesame dessert balls known as Jian Dui made of glutinous rice pastry, sesame seeds and black bean paste… ah I could eat one right now!

We then strolled up and down the Ancient Market browsing through all the stalls before climbing up to the top of a pagoda in time to watch the sunset over Hangzhou! Truly breathtaking!

After a dinner of a DIY BBQ which included steak, chicken wings, chicken hearts (yes I did mean to write chicken hearts, and yes I did try them!), fish, a mystery meat and various veg we showed the hostel how it was done with drinking games before heading out and sampling the ‘delights’ of a local Chinese club.

Our last day in Hangzhou started extremely early (not good after a night of beer and dancing!) with a trip to Moganshan Mountain near to Hangzhou.  We had a short hike to a lake where we were hoping to have a swim. But oh no! Just our luck, half the lake had disappeared, so instead of swimming in it, we walked across the muddy lake bed much to the confusion of the local fishermen watching us. 

We then hiked for 3 and half hours to the top of Moganshan with a trusty doggy mascot in tow (yep you read that right guys, I hiked up a mountain…) in time for the boys to watch the rugby final at the lodge there before heading back to Shanghai. With coffee, tea, beer and food it was a good end to a knackering but great weekend!!!

Zai jian!

Marie xox

An Intern Abroad...

Ni hao everyone!

Shanghai calling J! So here I am in the midst of the hustle and bustle of China and it’s AMAZING (think the upgrade to business class helped)! In just over a week I have eaten so much random food (some of them I don’t even know what they were, and perhaps wont want to know), tried to act out the word “coat hanger”, been pushed out of the metro at a stop I didn’t even want to get off (think of London at rush hour and triple it!), attended a restaurant opening, gone to a bar on the 87^th floor, and of course, most importantly started my internship.  It’s been a whirlwind to say the least.

Despite only being here for just over 10 days Shanghai already feels like home.  Perhaps it’s the easy metro system that is so similar to the London tube, maybe even because of the high-rise modern buildings that decorate the skyline (see the famous Pudong area above), or even the river that cuts through the city.  It is so cosmopolitan here too and many a time I have forgotten that I am half way across the world rather than sat in a coffee shop or a bar in London.  There are so many beautiful places to explore as well with People’s Square being one of them (although it’s not really what we would call a square like Trafalgar Square but rather a park) and my favourite area without a doubt being its lily pond (see pic below)!  All in all a lot of us interns (there are about 30 of us with the CRCC Asia program) feel settled.

Work is going really well (although think it will take me awhile to get used to the hour commute on the metro consisting of a free-for-all and a LOT of pushing and shoving) with everyone being so nice and welcoming and I’ve already done a lot in just 5 days.  The company I’m working for is ShanghaiExpat – a small company whose main channel is through their website www.shanghaiexpat.com.  Whilst their main revenue comes from advertisements on their site, their main reason for existence is to support the local expat community in Shanghai by giving advice through their forum and planning events – and that’s where I come in!  So far this week I have had to come up with several ideas for possible events that we can put on, help plan their 11^th Anniversary Party in December, ring up sponsors and promote their up and coming events on other expat marketing promotional sites and social networking sites – the 9-6 has been intense but really enjoyable and so different every day!  Who knows what I’ll be doing this week…

Zai jian!

Marie xox